A Fitful Start-Up That Became a Symbol of Privilege

This 1960 Aston Martin DB4GT sold for $2.2 million in August.Credit
Darin Schnabel/RM Auctions

From its founding a century ago, Aston Martin created cars meant to appeal to the sporting instincts of upper-class Britons who appreciated their design, exclusivity and, perhaps, scarcity. Judging by today’s models, which start at more than $115,000 and stretch to the brink of $300,000, the formula has proved durable.

Aston Martins earned a reputation for being sexy, raffish and yet buttoned-up — like a panther in a three-piece suit. Your mother wouldn’t think them vulgar, and your broker would be envious.

The Aston Martin name may sound aristocratic and double-barreled, as the British would say, but Lionel Martin, who started the company in 1913 with Robert Bamford, had simply combined his surname with the name of his favorite hill climb near the English village of Aston Clinton.

Despite its image of elegance, the marque barely survived its early years. Sales sputtered along for decades. The company produced fewer than 700 cars before World War II, a result of high prices and serial bankruptcies, and Aston had yet to establish its reputation on the track.

The modern history of Aston Martin starts with the 1947 purchase of the company by David Brown, an industrialist who was perhaps looking to ennoble himself after making a fortune in tractors. Those beasts of burden enabled him to finance the development of DB models — the name is derived from his initials — through the DB6 series.

Recognition of the brand, at least in popular culture, took off in 1964 when the newest model co-starred in “Goldfinger.” Ian Fleming had put Agent 007 at the wheel of an Aston, though the casting credit must be shared with the film’s producer, Albert Broccoli, whose vision of James Bond included a DB5. Sean Connery’s portrayal of Bond played a role in the film’s romantic conquests, to be sure, but the DB5’s sex appeal certainly helped matters.

The present happy state of Aston Martin is doubly remarkable for a marque initially overshadowed in racing by Alfa Romeo, Bentley and Bugatti. In the 1920s, Aston Martin shared a niche with brands like Alvis, Frazer Nash, Lea-Francis and Riley.

Mighty oaks grow from acorns, but their survival can be precarious. When Robert Bamford left Aston Martin in 1920, only two cars had been built. Things picked up slightly, and 61 cars were sold by 1925, when the company was rescued from bankruptcy. The next year, Aston Martin was sold to a racecar driver and designer, A. C. Bertelli, and an engineer, William Renwick, who would produce the International, Le Mans and Ulster models that established Aston’s prewar reputation.

Postwar austerity seemed to hold little promise for Aston Martin, though around the time Brown bought the company, it began using the last engine designed by W. O. Bentley. That 2.6-liter twin-cam 6-cylinder that powered DB cars for 10 years. In 1958, a 3.7-liter aluminum 6 replaced it in the DB4. The two engines drove Aston Martins through 1972.

With that DB4, Aston Martin made the jump from rather staid British sports car to elegant grand tourer, and the DB5 and DB6 were at least the equal of road-going models from Ferrari and Maserati. The DB4, DB5 and DB6 also became symbols of upper-class England in the Swinging ’60s.

A believer in the precept that winning on the racetrack would bolster sales, David Brown hired John Wyer to enter three cars for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1950. They finished fifth and sixth over all. Aston bought advertisements in motoring publications and persuaded Americans — including Phil Hill, the future Formula One world champion, and the sportsman Briggs Cunningham — to buy DB2s.

The most exotic and expensive Aston Martins are racing models from this period. Stirling Moss switched to Aston in 1956, scoring two wins and three second-place finishes in a rakish DB3S. Aston Martin finally won the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1959 with Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori.

The company languished in the 1970s and ’80s with less elegant V-8 models, though its loyal enthusiasts included Prince Charles. Still, for many, the marque’s low point came in 1987 when Ford bought control. To some, the improved assembly quality of the cars was offset by the stigma of parts obtained from Jaguar’s warehouse.

It was during the Ford era, in 1993, that the supercharged 6-cylinder DB7, designed by Ian Callum, reawakened interest in the marque. Ford sold its interest in 2007. This bumpy road was all but forgotten during the centennial celebrations this year.

In June, the company opened a Heritage Showroom at the old factory in Newport Pagnell, catering to the needs of classic models. The next month, in London, Aston Martin filled Kensington Gardens with 550 cars and attracted 50,000 visitors. The marque’s largest-ever gathering attracted cars from A3, the oldest survivor, to the new CC100 Speedster Concept, along with seven of the James Bond movie cars.

In August, on the Monterey Peninsula of California, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance featured a 13-strong Aston Martin Centennial Class, won by the 1953 Aston Martin Bertone DB2/4 roadster of Bill and Linda Pope of Paradise, Ariz.

Because of its lovingly polished image and more recent introductions like the One-77 supercar (2009) and acclaimed Rapide sedan (2011), the company is never short of admirers.

“Aston Martin has never been more successful than it is these days,” said David Adams of West Linn, Ore., a restorer who has owned 20 DBs over 30 years. “There’s so much new blood, it’s driving up the values of the vintage cars.”

A version of this article appears in print on October 27, 2013, on Page AU2 of the New York edition with the headline: A Fitful Start-Up That Became a Symbol of Privilege. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe